Artificial Intelligence

[JimC]

Here in Oz, the electricity price fluctuates as demand and supply levels alter, particularly with peak solar production in the middle of the day, and peak domestic demand in the early evening.

[macdoc]

These data files provide a list of:
small generation units (small-scale solar panel, wind and hydro systems) and kilowatt (kW) capacity by installed postcode
solar water heaters and air source heat pumps by installed postcode
solar batteries and useable kilowatt-hour (kWh) capacity by installed postcode
small-scale technology certificates for solar batteries by installed postcode.Total 6,882,329
* 2025 solar battery data is only available from 1 July 2025, when solar batteries became eligible under the under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.

https://cer.gov.au/markets/reports-and- ... tcode-data
Not bad on a population of 28 million and that does not include grid level wind and solar or grid batteries.

[pErvinalia]

Got an email from NSW gov talking about solar/battery rebates and interest free loans. $4000 rebate, and 10 years interest free loan. The loan program hasn't started yet, but they'll send an email when it's operational. I'd be keen to look into it.

[Tero]

We have coal hundreds of miles away and one nuclear plant for the state. Our county has a public utility that it runs pretty reliably. There is a grid to share with the middle of the country down to...not Texas. The county runs small power plants that fire up and shut down without a huge crew. They run on natural gas or other fuel. It's essentially a type of jet engine, the same way turbo props run a propeller in planes.
https://www.gem.wiki/Rokeby_power_station
It's classified as a gas turbine:
How It WorksAir Intake: The compressor draws in outside air and pressurizes it to high speeds.Combustion: Fuel mixes with the compressed air in a chamber and burns at high temperatures over 2,000°F.Generation: Hot expanding gas spins the turbine blades, which drive both the air compressor and an electrical generator.


efficiency can be up to 60% if steam is used for capture ofheat from the hot exhaust

[Brian Peacock]

That efficiency number is misleading. Typically the energy efficiency of gas turbines only accounts for the generation cycle. When factoring in the energy required for extraction, transportation, processing, distribution, storage, and maintenance turbine efficiency is generally in deficit. Adding c.20% to that with a combined-cycle steam turbine is useful only because the actual costs of inherent inefficiency are borne elsewhere - as with the environmental costs.